


In a Nut Shell

by gratitudeplus



Category: Wentworth - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 02:50:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7600570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gratitudeplus/pseuds/gratitudeplus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is through the eyes of the invisible one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In a Nut Shell

My name is Ellie. I am a cleaner at Wentworth Prison. My assigned areas are the Governor’s office, the officers’ quarters and the Protection Unit. I am 60 years old, although I look older. I have had a rough life. I have made peace with my past. This is about where I am now and the things that I have gained from my past experiences. I have learned that I have a gift. A gift in the sense that it is exactly that. I am able to feel and see things about people. Some would call it psychic. Sixth sense. I just think of it as being very sensitive to vibrations. It doesn’t matter who the person is. It doesn’t matter how accomplished they are. It doesn’t matter how much self control they have. The vibrations are always there. The range of light is always there. 

This prison, where I have worked for 20 years has changed a lot. I have been here, in the background just doing my job. I am invisible to most. I am just a cleaner, part of the furniture. That is OK. That works for me. I can get a much better sense that way. People fascinate me. 

The events of the past months have been life changing for a few.

Take Joan Ferguson for example. She has just arrived on remand. She is housed in the protection unit. I have always had a grudging admiration for the woman. Screwed up as she is. She was when she first arrived as Governor and is worse now. When she was Governor I arranged my schedule to clean her office when she would not be there. So, I had few encounters with her then. Walking into her office, I was usually overcome with a lingering sense of rage and futility and sadness. It was like walking into quicksand. It was like she knew that she might win most battles, but not the most important one. I am sure she doesn’t realize what it even is. I feel sorry for her, seeing life like a battle field. Joan against the world. I would often wonder why. If she could just let go of that anger and suspicion and resentment, she may start to see beautiful things.....but she doesn’t and most likely won’t unless she gets hit in the head and develops amnesia or something. Hope springs eternal. I encountered Joan in the protection unit. I obviously couldn’t change my schedule to clean her cell when she wasn’t there, because she was always there. The first time I had to go in there, the guard let me in. Joan looked at me intensely. I could sense that she was taking my measure. She was wary with what she saw. She knew that I knew. We both nodded politely. I said that I would clean her cell. She was co-operative. She thanked me when I was done. I could feel her eyes burning into the back of me as I left. It is a good thing that I am an old soul, I can weather the attack without damage. She doesn’t have the power to hurt me in anything other than the physical. She senses this and doesn’t like it.

Vera Bennett is another one. She is basically a decent person, but, has been stepped on most of her life. She is now beginning to see that if she is a victim, it is because she has allowed it. She has just been appointed as Governor. I just hope that she can reign in the new found realization in a bit, and not go too far overboard in the other direction. I see this a very real danger for her. I would hate to see her stomp out all the goodness in her heart. It is almost like kids in a school ground play yard. One kid has a growth spurt and gets bigger and stronger and then tries to make everyone who has ever wronged her pay. I hope and pray that she evolves beyond that and doesn’t become like her oppressors.

Joan has always looked outward. Vera has always looked inward. 

Will Jackson is now the Deputy Governor and an older soul. It shines through. He has had challenges since he has been at Wentworth. He has met each one with the strength and courage and decency that only an old soul can muster. He doesn’t belong here, yet he is the saving grace.

In fact, Vera and Will are the only ones who have ever acknowledged me and asked how I am.

Linda Miles is an opportunist. She is shallow. She is not inherently mean, but she doesn’t much care as long as she gets her pay off.

The new addition to the staff, Jake Stewart, is very much the manipulator and con artist. He is the worst kind of guard. He plays one side against the other. Jake has charmed his way into Vera’s favour and her bed. Vera is still very vulnerable as far as relationships go. He may very well be her downfall. Not Joan. Jake is as crooked as they come. He is also handsome and charming and he uses that to this full advantage.

Bridget is the prison shrink. She is usually harmless, and has been good for a lot of the women. Sometimes she lets her emotions get in the way of her professional judgement. I was cleaning in the protection area when I overheard Bridget call Joan a cunt. Bad call, Bridget. A complete breach of professional ethics which now, poor Vera will have to deal with. 

I am more worried for this prison and the people in it than I have been in a long time. A volatile combination of personalities. I feel things could explode at any time. I hope and pray not.

**Author's Note:**

> For what it is worth, my two cents.


End file.
